The Seahawks have announced Geno Smith will get the first start of the preseason at Pittsburgh. That makes perfect sense given what we’ve throughout the entire camp.
Geno Smith will get the nod for the Seahawks first action in 2022. That really shouldn’t come as a surprise, despite what we saw from the Hawks mock game. Yes, Drew Lock looked good, and Geno Smith looked average. Smith getting the start versus the Steelers doesn’t mean he’s a lock for the starting gig. You see what I did there, right? Lock….so clever!
Yeah, okay, back to the matter at hand. There’s no denying that Lock outplayed Smith in last Saturday’s mock game. There’s also no way to deny that the former Denver QB hasn’t lit up the field over the course of the entire camp.
I mean, the Hawks posted a video of Lock hitting three targets in a row into a net as if that’s encouraging. Sure, it’s nice, but when was the last time you saw the Chiefs gush over Patrick Mahomes hitting consecutive three throws in a drill?
Geno Smith earned the Seahawks start – this start at least
Still, Lock did look good in the mock game. He was much better than expected, especially when you consider he only got one series with the first unit. As reported by Kevin Patra for nfl.com, Pete Carroll liked what he saw from Lock in the mock game:
"“I think it was his most solid performance. He’s had really good days too, but I think that was the best one under the circumstances,” Carroll said of Lock. “I really liked his poise and his comfort in the pocket, handling stuff, adjustments, calls he had to make at the line of scrimmage, all of that he handled very well.”"
Again, that was one performance. There’s no way to get around the fact that Geno Smith didn’t have his most solid performance. But it was one game, five series. The Hawks can’t base their decision on five series. As Carroll continued:
"“It’s just gonna take some time,” the coach told NFL Network. “We need the opportunities to present themselves as we go, and we try to create them all the time. … We’re accumulating a lot of information for us, and it’s working out well.”"
That makes perfect sense. As Patra concluded, the Seahawks could very well flip the order depending on the preseason. It’s been a long time since Seattle was in this position, using the preseason to determine who should start under center. One start doesn’t mean the job belongs to Smith. We can only hope that we get a clear leader in the next three games.